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Yasiel Puig has signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, a semi-pro baseball team, amid ongoing legal issues. This marks a new chapter for the former Dodgers star at age 35.
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Yasiel Puig
Former Los Angeles Dodgers star Yasiel Puig has found a new team.
Puig, 35, signed with a baseball team in Toronto, though itâs not the Blue Jays.
Instead, heâs agreed to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs, a semi-pro baseball team that shares a name with the hockey franchise, as reported by Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic, who cited the Toronto Star as breaking the news.
Itâs probably something many never thought possible for a former MLB All-Star, but Puig hasnât played in the majors since 2019.
Before that final year, though, heâd had some bright moments for the Dodgers.
Puig appeared in more than 700 games in six seasons for the Boys in Blue. He recorded a .277 batting-average with 636 hits, including 108 home runs, and was named an All-Star in 2014, his second season.
After that stint, he split 2019 between the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians, now known as the Guardians.
Heâs expressed some interest in rejoining the Dodgers, where he spent six of his seven seasons, and retiring with the team, but that hasnât panned out.
âYes, I want to be with Los Angeles again one more time,â . âI love the city, I love the fans, this is a great place to be, and I do my little career here in Los Angeles. I love the stadium, I love everything that comes with the Dodgers like great fans, great city, [I have been with] a lot of different teams and I want to live that part of my life again.â
Yasiel Puig signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, a semi-pro baseball team.
Yasiel Puig is facing ongoing legal issues, though specific details are not mentioned in the report.
Yasiel Puig is playing for a semi-pro team as he seeks to continue his baseball career amid legal challenges.
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Oct 27, 2018; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig (66) celebrates hitting a three-run home run against the Boston Red Sox in the sixth inning in game four of the 2018 World Series at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Instead, Puig was convicted earlier this year of lying to federal investigators about his betting on sports while still playing baseball in 2019.
The U.S. Department of Justice claimed Puig lied to them about that gambling, including in a 2022 interview, and he was convicted of obstruction of justice.
Now, he faces up to 15 years in federal prison.
As Mayberry noted, the Maple Leafs are expecting Puig to be in their Opening Day lineup on May 10.
Thatâs just over two weeks before his sentencing in Los Angeles on May 26.
Itâs possible that his stint as a Maple Leaf will be very short-lived, but prosecutors havenât said what kind of sentence theyâre hoping to get for Puig.
Thereâs even a chance he doesnât serve any sort of prison sentence at all, so maybe the Maple Leafs either know something the public doesnât, or maybe theyâre gambling that however long they have Puig is worth the uncertainty.
We wonât know for sure until May 26.